Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Peter Ceresnak split the season between Dukla Trencin's U-18 and U-20 teams in Slovakia. In 23 games at U-20, he scored 1 goal with 1 assist. He had 1 goal with 2 assists and 10 PMs playing for the U-18 team.

2009-10: Ceresnak played for Dukla Trencin's U-20 team, scoring 4 goals with 18 assists and accumulating 38 PMs in 47 games. He also played two U-18 games for Dukla, scoring a goal with two assists. Ceresnak represented Slovakia at the World Junior U-18 championships appearing in six games and had no points with 6 PMs. Sibir Novosibirsk selected him in the 5th round (115th overall) of the KHL Draft.

2010-11: Ceresnak made his pro debut appearing in seven games for the HK Dukla Trencin men's club while also competing for the U-20 team and playing for Slovakia's U-18 and U-20 teams at the World Junior tournaments. Scoreless in seven games with the men's team, he had 6 assists in 18 games (including playoffs) with the Dukla Trencin U-20. In six games for Team Slovakia at the U-20 tournament in Buffalo, Ceresnak had no points with a -3 plus/minus and 2 PMs. Ceresnak was the team captain for Slovakia at the U-18 tournament and had one assist with a -6 plus/minus on a team that won just once and finished last in the ten-team tournament. Ceresnak was ranked 35th amongst European skaters by Central Scouting in the final rankings and selected by the Rangers in the 6th round (172nd overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. He was a first round selection (4th overall) of the Peterborough Petes in the CHL Import Draft and will play in the OHL in 2011-12.

2011-12: Ceresnak skated for Peterborough in the OHL in his first season in North America and played for Slovakia in the 2012 U20 World Junior Championship. He showed steady improvement in making the adjustment to the physical and positional demands of North America. He scored 6 goals with 9 assists in 61 games and was minus-one with 34 penalty minutes. Three of his six goals came on the Petes' power play. Peterborough missed the OHL playoffs; finishing fourth in the East Division. Ceresnak was minus-four with no points and 2 penalty minutes in six games as Slovakia finished sixth at the WJC.

Talent Analysis

Ceresnak is a two-way defenseman with good size, who relishes contact and likes to pinch into the offensive zone.

Share this story

Photo: Peterborough Petes defenseman and New York Rangers prospect Peter Ceresnak was the top defender for Slovakia at the 2013 World Juniors (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

On the first day of tournament play at the 2013 World Junior Championship, Slovakia fell just short of what might have been the tournament’s biggest sensation when it turned around a 2-0 Russian lead to force the game to overtime, where Russian defenseman Albert Yarullin scored on a power play goal to decide it, 3-2.

Share this story

Photo: Michael St. Croix is one of only four Rangers prospects playing at the CHL level in 2012-13. (Derek Leung/Getty Images)

For the first time in many years, the New York Rangers have fewer junior players in their system than almost any other NHL team. There are only four New York prospects skating in the CHL this season, two in the WHL, and one in each of the QMJHL and OHL. Although this is partly the result of the team moving toward drafting players headed to college, it also can be explained by the small number of selections that New York has had in recent drafts. In the last three years, the Rangers have only drafted 16 players, including four in the 2012 NHL Draft. Of the four drafted in 2012, two are playing for NCAA teams and two are continuing their development in Europe.

Share this story

Photo: Drafted 10th overall in 2010, Dylan McIlrath brings size and toughness to the Rangers blue line. McIlrath has yet to suit up this season due to a knee injury suffered this past summer. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The New York Rangers have become one of the NHL teams that rely most on good player development. As the result of a rebuild that lasted at least half of the last decade, close to half of the players on the 2011-12 roster had either been drafted or signed as free agents out of junior hockey.